Allegations against him may be flying thick and fast, but they don't worry the IPL's administrative face

Rohit Mahajan

Allegations Against Modi

He operated as a ‘Super Chief Minister’ from the opulent Rambagh Palace Hotel

Used his proximity to then CM Vasundhararaje to control key civil servants who would take files to his hotel suite

Facilitated entry of big builders in the state. Every big land deal had to have his clearance.

Influenced change in the liquor policy which led to the proliferation of liquor outlets. Became an election issue.

Had a finger in every pie, including mines

Personally acquired havelis in Amer by bending the law

Has an extravagant lifestyle, owns a private jet. Would stay for days in the luxury suite of the Rambagh Palace Hotel.

Influenced the enactment of the Rajasthan Sports Act to gain control over the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA)

Accused of forging signature to become a member of the RCA

Rode roughshod over anyone who crossed his path, whether it was a constable or an IPS officer. A slapping incident sparked a near-revolt in the Jaipur police.

Was named in an FIR for misappropriation of RCA funds. The money has subsequently been deposited with the RCA.

Convicted in the United States for possession of drugs and kidnapping in 1985

***

The opulent Prince’s Suite at the Rambagh Palace Hotel in Jaipur was once occupied by Maharani Gayatri Devi’s son, Prince Jagat Singh. In the 21st century, though, it has been home to a controversial modern-day prince, Lalit Kumar Modi, for several days every other month for the last four years. The jetsetting industrialist, man about town and architect of the spectacularly successful Indian Premier League, whose reported fondness for the good life is matched only by his overweening ambition, didn’t just administer the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) from this charmed, Rs 90,000-a-night zone of luxury. He reportedly ran Rajasthan, courtesy his proximity to the former state chief minister, Vasundhararaje.

Such was his influence that it earned Modi, 46, the sobriquet of Super Chief Minister, his role becoming a key issue in the state assembly elections last November. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot, then leading the Congress election campaign, openly accused Modi of acting as an "extra-constitutional authority". With Vasundhararaje voted out of power and Gehlot ensconced in her seat, the man who ruled Rajasthan from behind the throne, riding roughshod over civil servants and ministers, is finally facing the heat. Last month, Modi had to cool his heels for several hours at a police station here after an FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint by a Samajwadi Party activist for forgery. And to think this was the man who had once slapped a constable for walking into his box at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium (SMS) during a cricket match, triggering off a near-revolt in the city’s constabulary.

Wheeling A Deal?
Thick of things: Modi holds a meeting with officials

But even as Modi finds the going tough with his friend and patron Vasundhara in the opposition, tales of his imperious style and skills in bending the law have become the stuff of contemporary folklore here.

"Modi just summoned civil servants with their files to his suite and told them what to do. If anyone demurred, he’d say, ‘I’ll have to talk to Vaasu’."

It wasn’t just the RCA which reeled under his onslaught—what with his election as president mired in court cases, allegations of financial malfeasance and forgery—but also bureaucrats, police, landowners and anyone else who dared cross his path.

Modi’s friendship with Vasundhara, 56, dates back to at least 1990. A member of the then Chandra Shekhar government at the Centre recalls having seen her accompany Modi to a minister for seeking clearance to establish a factory near Gwalior. The application was in the name of his father, K.K. Modi, son of Rai Bahadur Gujarmal Modi. Grandfather Modi had migrated from Patiala to establish what’s now known as Modinagar in UP. "Gujarmal created employment, contributed to the wealth of the nation. What has his grandson done?" asks an industrialist politician.

Well, the grandson ruled Rajasthan. He was able to do so because all powers during the BJP’s five years of rule were apparently centralised in the chief minister’s office—everything from transfers to change in land use to liquor licences and mining leases. Decisions on these issues had Modi’s imprint. "It was a case of single window clearance," a fellow industrialist, cricket aficionado and politician told Outlook.

Under cover of sec 90 B of the Land Acquistion Act, a one-time welfare measure, thousands of acres of agricultural land was passed on to builders.

"Modi simply summoned civil servants with their files to his suite at the Rambagh Palace and told them what to do. And if anyone demurred, he’d simply say, ‘I’ll have to talk to Vaasu (the name by which Vasundhara’s close friends address her) then’."

Coming A Copper
Locking horns: Modi and the police do not exactly have backslapping rapport

Walk into the state secretariat and this story will be whispered repeatedly, along with tales of high-handedness that has left many a bureaucrat bruised. Soon, it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction. As a senior police officer put it, "In the end, Vasundhara faced such a crisis of credibility that anything people said about her and Modi was believed."

The two most popular stories are about the public fight he had with IAS officer Mahendra Surana, and another with IPS officer R.P. Srivastava. Surana, who was secretary, employees’ welfare, recalled that in 2007 he had accompanied friend Dr Hemendra Surana, a doctor in the army and a former Ranji player, to watch a match at SMS. Dr Surana had asked Modi for passes earlier but when his request was turned down, he procured them from minister Rajendra Singh Rathore. As the two waited to gain entry, Modi came in and saw the Suranas show their passes to the girl at the door. "He simply came up, asked the girl what was happening, grabbed our passes and tore them up. The reason for his anger: he thought Dr Surana was with the Rungta group (of Kishore Rungta, rival to Modi in the RCA)." The Srivastava incident was similar.

Modi was indeed a law unto himself. Like in the case of the Amer havelis. He is alleged to have manipulated government rules and pressured local officials to secure control of at least two of the havelis, with a view to renovating and converting these into a heritage resort. Mahant Shiv Prakash Bhattacharya, the 75-year-old titleholder of the crumbling, seven-storey Choor Singh ki Haveli which stands in the shadow of the historic Amer Fort, is holding out. He has gone to court to thwart Modi’s attempt to take over his haveli.

"My ancestors were priests in Jessore (in Bangladesh). The Maharaja of Jaipur brought them here and set them up as royal priests more than 400 years ago," says the remarkably fit Bhattacharya, in his perfect Banarasi Hindi, with just the slightest touch of a harsher Rajasthani burr. "The irony is that today one Lalit Modi has hatched a conspiracy with another member of the Gwalior royalty, Vasundhara, to try and evict us." The haveli issue is now so hot in Jaipur that former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat visited the area a few days ago to express his solidarity for those displaced by Modi. The IPL czar doesn’t deny he owns these havelis, saying "it’s a small, insignificant property, which doesn’t make any difference in my life". Perhaps not, but for those who lived there, it was the only roof over their heads.

These havelis are clearly small change compared with the thousands of crores that have changed hands as Jaipur expanded to swallow agricultural land and other outlying towns. Under the cover of the controversial Section 90 B of the Land Acquisition Act, acres of agricultural land has passed into the hands of big builders from Delhi. "Section 90 B," explains an IAS officer, "was intended to be a one-time welfare measure with a cut-off date to give relief to local farmers." They were allowed to convert their land into non-agricultural land. "The area was defined, the mechanism defined," adds the IAS officer. "But it was not meant to be an enabling clause for crass commercialisation which is what it became during the BJP era, when the provision about the cut-off date was given the go-by." The Jaipur Development Authority framed ad hoc rules to get around the original objective of Section 90 B. Presiding over this change in land use, many allege, was Lalit Modi. The land issue is now the subject of a probe by the government.

BJP leaders, in fact, are so embarrassed about Modi’s role that they now all want to distance themselves from him. "Modi had nothing to do with the BJP," says state party chief Om Mathur. "If he had anything to do with the government at that time, let there be an inquiry and the truth come out. He may have been involved, may have made mistakes—it’s up to the current government to find out."

So, will we witness the fall of Lalit Modi? Perhaps not, despite all the colourful stories about him. For one, he has powerful friends in the UPA establishment—from NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to SP leader Amar Singh to superstar Shahrukh Khan, who is friendly with the junior Gandhis, not to mention Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla and several Congress MLAs in Rajasthan. Indeed, at a dinner in Jaipur last week to celebrate the return of Congress to power in Rajasthan, the subject of Lalit Modi was a conversation-buster in a gathering comprising cabinet ministers and state MPs. Caught between admiration and fear, a very senior state leader said, "There is a very thin line between love and hate." But the consensus was that there was little point in pursuing the corruption issue even though it had been an important one in the assembly elections. As one minister said, "Corruption is not really an election issue." The last word came from a young Congress leader: "There’s a Modi in every state." And all Modis, we have learnt, are known to prosper.

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Batting, But Not EyelidsIf a man can achieve so much just by being on the right side of the CM, we must applaud him (Out of the Premier League, Feb 16). Lalit Modi has committed no crime other than using his brains. He has opened up Indian cricket to the hundreds who’d otherwise have seen no money in their cricketing careers and he has also got the whole cricketing world at India’s feet in just one year. Thanks to Vasundhararaje for giving him a helping hand. Sanjay Ranade, Pune

The curious case of Lalit Modi should be followed by the curious success of Team India. At this rate, Indian cricket is likely to become another Satyam story, a helluva lot of money and no gameplan.Suresh Tinaikar, Mumbai

I honestly thought Vasundhararaje had done a good job and lost the elections because of infighting. It now appears there was a lot more to it. In India, if the establishment is against you, there is no way you can win elections.Rahul Bansal, Delhi

You say "Modi just summoned ...and told them what to do. If anyone demurred, he’d say, ‘I’ll have to talk to Vaasu’." This sounds ridiculous. Are all our bureaucrats so spineless (like the Congresswallahs or the Editor of Outlook) that they would backtrack the moment the Queen’s name is taken? Maj Gen S.C.N. Jatar (Retd), Pune

I’m pretty sure Lalit Modi used subterfuge to enter the rca. However, I am glad that he did. The Rungtas had been running the rca for years like a family fiefdom. It was good for all that Modi threw them out, but the same principle applies to Modi. He’s not entitled to run the rca forever either.Nishanth Balaji, Irvine, US

I take exception to the last line in your cover story, "There’s a Modi in every state and all Modis are known to prosper." Lalit Modi belongs to the tribe of the Amar Singhs, backroom fixers with few scruples. Why compare him with a Modi in a neighbouring state who has, so far, been above corruption? PS: is it a coincidence that both India Today and Outlook had crooks on their covers the same week, Amar Singh and Lalit Modi?Dr Rumin B. Shah, Vadodara

Though he himself is no longer young, Lalit Modi represents an alarming trend among today’s youth, a little short on scruples and ethics, and an impatience to reach the top fast. Truthfulness, honesty and morality are inconvenient accessories to be dropped at the first obstacle. Do we want our children to grow up like him? Shyamal Mukerji, Mumbai

After all this (A Bit of Underhand Bowling, Feb 16), the Lalit Modi-owned Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural ipl league. Was that a fraud too? Mort, Mumbai

i remember an article in your magazine about literary bankruptcy and how even mainstream national dailies are looking through bollywood dialogues for thier headlines! your cover screamed " the curious case of lalit modi " , pray does lifting form a hollywood blockbuster give you a moral high ground , and pardon you of a similar crime?

do you know the gender of the coach of Indian women's hockey team?? it is HE... do you know the gender of the coach of Indian women cricket team?? again , it is HE... do you know the gender of the coaches that accompanied our women teams at the Olympics?? again, MEN... actually it is a waste of time to try to educate you... as Rahul pointed, there must be be something else in between your legs... or, perhaps you think through your phallus rather than your brain... you know what, perhaps you don't realize it, but you are a big source of ridicule here in these pages... something like watching serious movies of Rajinikant, Vijaykant, BalaKrishna et al, which actually provide serious comedy... keep going mate, else it's boring for us with other routine comedy...

"no matter what the theme of the article is, some people can never come out of their mental borders to see the scheme of things for what they are... for example, Mrs.Bhanumati finds an Islamic angle in this article, and this MCP Parthasarathy, as usual, finds the feminist angle, when neither of these two angles are anywhere close to the topic of this article... there is a nice saying abt people like you... we don't see things as they are, but as we are...RAJ LEIPZIG GERMANY"....How true....these guys just talk about the same issue. I wonder sometimes that they are perhaps paid by outlook to stir the passion so that more reactions are made on every article.I have a question for PARTHASARATHY REBORNCHENNAI,INDIA....hey, are you a born idiot or this behaviour of your has started happening recently. You seem to be totally out of your head.I think there is something certainly wrong in between your legs which is why you hate women.Anyway...about Lalit Modi and Rajasthan, I am shocked at this. I was honestly under the impression that Vasundhara Raje did a good job and lost the elections because of infighting. It now appears that there was a lot more to it. In India if the establishment is against you there is no way you can win elections.

Lalit Modi's actvities are in best traditions of Indian gliteretti & chatteretti. A bit of criminality along the way, influence peddling, pulling a fast one here & there, using an institution to personal end & appropriating communal or public weath/property as his own by little bit of fudging of documents , hustling the weak to divest them of what they fancy.

Nobody knew who Lalit Modi was. He became darling of the media once his qulities of sharp practices bebome public.

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